Mayor Cleared In Raid That Killed Dogs

Mayor And Wife No Longer Considered Suspects In Drug Smuggling Scheme

(CBS/ AP)  A small-town mayor whose dogs were killed in a drug raid was cleared of any wrongdoing after police had been reluctant to rule out his involvement in drug smuggling or apologize for the violent incident.

Prince George's County Police Chief Melvin High said Friday he called Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo and his wife, Trinity Tomsic, on Thursday to say they were no longer suspected in a drug smuggling scheme.

A SWAT team raided the mayor's home July 29 after intercepting a FedEx package shipped to Tomsic that was filled with 32 pounds of marijuana. Officers broke down the door, shot the two dogs and kept Calvo and his mother-in-law bound for nearly two hours.

Police now believe the drug delivery was part of a scheme that sent packages to the homes of unsuspecting recipients. The packages would then be picked up by someone else shortly after delivery. Two suspects have been arrested in the case.

"The Calvo family members were the apparent victims of a local drug ring," High said in a statement. "I called him to express my sorrow and regret for that and for the loss of the family's beloved dogs."

High stopped short of apologizing for how the drug raid was carried out. He said the police department was conducting a review of the narcotics investigation that led to the raid. The county sheriff has said the dogs' deaths were justified, saying officers felt threatened.

Investigators had been tracking the package that arrived on Calvo's front porch since it drew the attention of a drug-sniffing dog in Arizona.

Calvo and Tomsic requested a federal civil rights investigation of the case on Thursday, and the FBI responded by launching a review. The couple says there may be a systemic abuse of search warrant powers and use of force in the county.

"The deputies opened fire and executed our dogs the very second they broke down our front door," Calvo, 37, said at a news conference on his front lawn Thursday. "We were harmed by the very people who took an oath to protect us."

"It was a horrible, horrible incident," Calvo told Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith Friday, "but I think it's also the kind of thing that happens, and I don't think we would have realized that until it happened to us."

"What's really troubling," Calvo continued, "is they didn't have a proper warrant to do what they did. They actually didn't give us a warrant at all until 71 hours after it happened. And that's really what's disturbing -- despite all the mistakes that were made, they're holding to their guns, saying they did nothing wrong.

"This happened to us. We can't get our dogs back, and we know that. But the reason we asked for federal authorities to investigate this is because this is a systemic problem, and we want to make sure that, while it happened to us and that's a tragedy, we don't want it to happen to anyone else."

Calvo insisted the couple's two black Labradors were gentle creatures and said police apparently killed them "for sport," gunning down one of them as it was running away.

"Our dogs were our children," said the 37-year-old Calvo. "They were the reason we bought this house because it had a big yard for them to run in."

Maryland State Sen. Paul Pinsky, who represents the suburban Washington district, said the case was a good example of frequent police action in minority communities that fails to capture the same level of attention as Calvo's case.

[rwm2_2000]

For the life of me, I just can''t see WHY he is still in his office as sheriff. He SHOULD be in one of the cells! I really hope that folks will keep the pressure on him. Once it''s no longer on the news sites most of us won''t know the outcome.

[bobnjersey]

[High stopped short of apologizing for how the drug raid was carried out. He said the police department was conducting a review of the narcotics investigation that led to the raid. The county sheriff has said the dogs'' deaths were justified, saying officers felt threatened. ]

mr. high (no pun intended) and the county sheriff should be removed from office without hesitation. all the officers that made up the team that executed the warrant should also be removed from their positions.

hire people who will protect and serve the populace ... cause these people currently in these positions apparently don''t know how to do this.

[bks59]

in the worse case we are talking about marijuana and its street value, no kidnappings, armed robbery, violenece against another, just pot. and this is the actions taken by narcs for some pot?

make it leagal, alcohol is. Like i have said, there are deaths weekly, pehaps, daily from alcohol poisoning and overdose, not one single death can be contributed to marijuana overdose.

[zucchiniman]

Egomaniacs have always been the bane of humanity. There will not be a confession of error from the culprits. That would require integrity.

[cepe10-2009]

Living in Maryland you learn pretty quick that law enforcement does not nessicarily feel they are subject tot he law.

Not surprising at all that the warrant was not handled in a legal and appropriate manner...

The excuses fro not following procedure are many and these agencies use tax payer dollars to fund their defense when they are caught.

The supervisor and the dog executors (notice I don''t call them law enforcement officers because someone that intentionally violates the law - improper warrant - improper service) needs to be sued personally before any real responsibility will come.

As it is the citizens

[abnrgr3]

ohh and on a side note. I took an Oath to defend this country against all enemies foriegn and DOMESTIC. I can guarantee you my dogs would not have died. Read into that however you like.

[abnrgr3]

I was not surprised by this incident as this is a pretty common occurance across America. I do hope however that the Police involved are held accountable and not just get a slap on the wrist. I am a former soldier who served in Combat zones and felt threatened the entire time, but that didnt give me a blank check to open fire on anything that moved.
To the Officers involved or any that are reading this. You Signed on to possibly put yourself in harms way as i did when I signed up for the military. Earn your pay and stop making excuses

[dennisaa2]

I hope the sue the police, and all involved for as much as they can get plus some.
It''s BS that "it was justified" and was an act of extreme stupidity and outrageous.
One of the dogs was shot while running away, a real threat!
It just shows how out police state is getting out of control. This is happening all over the country as the police think they can do anything they want.
I hope these people sue them for all they have and more.
Disgusted

[txgrouch2006]

Wake UP America! You are no longer secure in your homes from a government that is out of control! The founders of this country would be horrified to see what we have allowed our government to become.
Posted by allurfears at 10:10 PM : Aug 09, 2008

They''re walking up to your door right now to confiscate your guns. In two seconds, your doorbell will ring.

ARE YOU READY TO HAND IN YOUR GUNS NOW, AMERICA???

Oops, some of you already did. Maybe that was a mistake. GET SOME MORE WHILE YOU HAVE THE CHANCE.

[txgrouch2006]

Wake UP America! You are no longer secure in your homes from a government that is out of control! The founders of this country would be horrified to see what we have allowed our government to become.
Posted by allurfears at 10:10 PM : Aug 09, 2008

They''re walking up to your door now to confiscate your guns.

ARE YOU READY TO HAND IN YOUR GUNS NOW, AMERICA???

Oops, some of you already did. Maybe that was a mistake. GET SOME MORE WHILE YOU HAVE THE CHANCE.